Isaiah 5:14
in Isaiah 5Therefore Sheol enlarges its throat and opens wide its enormous jaws, and down go Zion’s nobles and masses, her revelers and carousers!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Therefore Sheol hath enlarged its desire, and opened its mouth without measure; and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth among them, descend into it.
KJV
Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
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This verse in Isaiah 5
Commentary
8 notes on this verse(Verse 14, 15.) Therefore, hell enlarged its soul and opened its mouth without any limit, and its strong ones, and its people, and its high and glorious ones descended to it. And man will be humbled, and the man will be brought low, and the eyes of the proud will be cast down. Those who rose early to pursue wine, and remained in drunkenness until evening, and were occupied with pleasure and indulgence, did not want to consider the work of the Lord, nor did they contemplate the works of His hands.
This site's exposition
Woe to those who rise early
on Isaiah 5:11-14
The second woe turns to drinking, men who rise early for strong drink and linger until wine inflames them. The charge falls on the blindness drink produces, a people entertained past noticing their own coming exile. Sheol "opens wide its enormous jaws," and down go the nobles and revelers.
This site's exposition
Sheol enlarges its throat
Sheol is the Hebrew name for the place of the dead, which Barnes sets beside the Greek Hades. Its throat opens wide for the revelers who drank wine at their feasts in 5:11 and 12. Numbers 16:30 tells of the ground opening its mouth.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
182. Second, against another species of gluttony which is "too much," he sets out the insatiability of those who take them captive in subjugation; hence he says, therefore has hell, that is, death or the devil, enlarged her soul, as to affection, and opened her …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Therefore hell hath enlarged herself,....
Did they glory in their mirth? Death will turn it into mourning; he that rejoices and revels, and never knows what it is to be serious, shall go thither where there are weeping and wailing. Thus the mean man and the mighty man meet together in the grave and under mortifying judgments.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Therefore hell - The word transated “hell,” שׁאול she'ôl, has not the same meaning that we now attach to that word; its usual signification, among the Hebrews, was “the lower world, the region of departed spirits.” It corresponded to the Greek ἅδης Hadēs, “hades,” or place of the dead.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Greek, hades; "the unseen world of spirits." Not here, "the place of torment." Poetically, it is represented as enlarging itself immensely, in order to receive the countless hosts of Jews, which should perish (Nu 16:30). their--that is, of the Jewish people. he that rejoiceth--the drunken reveller in Jerusalem.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Therefore, the nether-world has expanded Retribution corresponding to deed; they expanded themselves to swallow much food and drink, and they opened their mouth to swallow, so will the nether world expand itself to swallow.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
because of lack of knowledge because their heart was without knowledge.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לָכֵ֗ן | lakhen | <to> therefore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| הִרְחִ֤יבָה | hirchivah | it will enlarge | H7337 → | 25 times |
| שְּׁאוֹל֙ | sheol | Sheol | H7585 → | 66 times |
| נַפְשָׁ֔הּ | nafshah | throat its | H5315 → | 754 times |
| וּפָעֲרָ֥ה | ufaarah | and it will open wide | H6473 → | |
| פִ֖יהָ | fiha | mouth its | H6310 → | 498 times |
| לִבְלִי־ | livli- | to not | H1097 → | 58 times |
| חֹ֑ק | chok | limit | H2706 → | |
| וְיָרַ֨ד | veyarad | and it will go down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| הֲדָרָ֧הּ | hadarah | splendor its | H1926 → | 30 times |
| וַהֲמוֹנָ֛הּ | vahamonah | and multitude its | H1995 → | 83 times |
| וּשְׁאוֹנָ֖הּ | usheonah | and uproar its | H7588 → | 18 times |
| וְעָלֵ֥ז | vealez | and [one] exulting | H5938 → | |
| בָּֽהּ׃ | bah | in it |
לָכֵ֗ן<to> therefore
lakhenH3651 →771 times
הִרְחִ֤יבָהit will enlarge
hirchivahH7337 →25 times
שְּׁאוֹל֙Sheol
sheolH7585 →66 times
נַפְשָׁ֔הּthroat its
nafshahH5315 →754 times
וּפָעֲרָ֥הand it will open wide
ufaarahH6473 →
פִ֖יהָmouth its
fihaH6310 →498 times
לִבְלִי־to not
livli-H1097 →58 times
חֹ֑קlimit
chokH2706 →
וְיָרַ֨דand it will go down
veyaradH3381 →381 times
הֲדָרָ֧הּsplendor its
hadarahH1926 →30 times
וַהֲמוֹנָ֛הּand multitude its
vahamonahH1995 →83 times
וּשְׁאוֹנָ֖הּand uproar its
usheonahH7588 →18 times
וְעָלֵ֥זand [one] exulting
vealezH5938 →
בָּֽהּ׃in it
bah
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Luke 21:34But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.
it leads to
- Mark 4:19
but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
- Luke 12:40
You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:2–8
For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
- Luke 12:45–46
But suppose that servant says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and he begins to beat the menservants and maidservants, and to eat and drink and get drunk.
- 1 Peter 4:3–7
For you have spent enough time in the past carrying out the same desires as the Gentiles: living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry.
- Mark 4:19
Through
Proverbs 27:20Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 1:8
All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.
- Habakkuk 2:5
and wealth indeed betrays him. He is an arrogant man never at rest. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, and like Death, he is never satisfied. He gathers all the nations to himself and…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ecclesiastes 1:8
Through
Proverbs 30:16Sheol, the barren womb, land never satisfied with water, and fire that never says, ‘Enough!’
it leads to
- Proverbs 27:20
Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 27:20
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.